


Forest of Wolves

by Skycourier



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-16 12:18:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8102152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skycourier/pseuds/Skycourier
Summary: This fic is based largely off of Halloween DMMd calendar page and a tweet from my friend Natsu that basically gave birth to the story of “Blue Riding Hood” and his journey to Grandmother’s house. Big thanks to Natsu, Dende, Cyna, Anisa, Lauren, and Firo for pitching ideas, expanding upon them and inspiring me, and always motivating me. Also thanks to Shino for all of the above AND being a beta reader!This is my first planned long fic. Critiques are always welcomed :)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based largely off of Halloween DMMd calendar page and a tweet from my friend Natsu that basically gave birth to the story of “Blue Riding Hood” and his journey to Grandmother’s house. Big thanks to Natsu, Dende, Cyna, Anisa, Lauren, and Firo for pitching ideas, expanding upon them and inspiring me, and always motivating me. Also thanks to Shino for all of the above AND being a beta reader!  
> This is my first planned long fic. Critiques are always welcomed :)

Aoba’s day started past eight o’clock in the morning. It was Haruka who stomped up the stairs to toss her son out of bed, thanks to his inability to realize that it was already 30 minutes past his alarm by the time he opened his eyes. By now Aoba has learned how to get ready for the day’s work, finish breakfast, and run out to the door in 15 minutes, just enough to make it to Junk Shop Heibon on time. His parents would always comment and joke on his tardiness throughout breakfast, even though they knew Aoba would be too busy getting ready to retaliate or react in any manner. He worked at the junk shop until early evening, dealing with customers, delivering various items all around the streets, and tidying up the shop on slower days. Warm dinner would wait when he returned home. Nain was always in the kitchen with his wife, helping out with the meal. After a good talk over the dinner table and cleanup, Aoba would go upstairs to lose himself in music or other interests until he felt too sleepy to continue. Disregarding small variations, this was his usual routine.

One Saturday morning, the phone rang. The Seragakis used their coils for everyday communications, it being the most analog thing in their household, and whenever it rang, it would always mean that Tae was on the end of the line.

“Hello!” Haruka was on the phone in mere seconds. Her mother started living in the forest not too far from the Seragakis’ in pursuit of a simpler, quieter life. Even though she was tough for a woman of her age, it was not an easy trek to take often. As such, it was only on rare occasions that their grandmother visited them, and she always called before stepping off.

Haruka’s chipper responses to the phone gradually became worried. “Mm-hmm. Oh…oh, gosh. Are you alright? Okay…yes, yes, I will. Maybe we could go instead—ah, no? But mom—” Nain and Aoba glanced at each other, wondering what kind of conversation the two women were holding.

The phone was lowered. “Mom is sick,” Haruka sighed. “She was planning to come this week, but now it be happening anytime soon.”

“Granny can get sick?” Aoba joked. His mother, in return, shook her head and gave him a look of disapproval that was laced with mild amusement.

“She said it’s just a cold, but I think it’s a bad one. I could hear it in her voice.” Haruka walked over to the breakfast table and slumped in her seat. “She’s always been tough, but her age still matters, you know? It could take long for her to recover. She told me not to worry, but I can’t help myself.”

Everyone was in silent agreement. Nain hummed thoughtfully as he stood up to put away the plates. “Aoba, why don’t you go visit Granny today?”

“Me?”

“That’s a great idea!” Haruka gasped. “It’s been a while since she’s seen you. I bet she would love it if her grandson came for her.”

“Though she doesn’t show it.” Nain chuckled. “We’ll make some soup for you to take there. In the meantime, go get dressed.”

It _was_ a great idea, and Aoba was more than glad to help his Granny out. He stood up to start heading to his room, and paused. “What about you guys? Aren’t you coming too?”

“Haruka and I have some work to do today.” Nain paused from putting an apron on to look back apologetically. “They pushed the deadline forward at the last minute. I thought we’d have more time to finish up that article from our last trip, but looks like we will have to work overtime.”

Now Aoba felt less enthusiastic than before. If this was the case, it would be the first time for Aoba to venture the forest on his own. Though he remembered the general path they took before, he wasn’t too confident in his navigating skills. “What if I get lost?”

Nain stroked his chin. “Well…people _do_ get lost there from time to time…”

“I wouldn’t worry,” Haruka waved dismissively at Nain’s budding concern. “It’s a pretty straightforward path all the way to mom’s house.”

“I guess so.”

“But—”

“Aoba, don’t be such a baby.” Haruka chided. “It doesn’t take that long to find the way back. And besides, even if you are to take more time, you don’t have anything to spend time on weekends, anyway.”

Which was true, but it was unfair for them to poke fun at something he’s earned over the week. “Yeah, yeah, a fitting job for a lazy bum like me!” Pretending to be offended, Aoba huffed and marched up the stairs. He could hear his parents giggling at his show. With a small smile on his face as well, he began to sift through his closet to get his usual clothes for the trip.

 

* * *

 

Aoba put on a white shirt with long loose sleeves, making sure the sleeves were buttoned up all the way. A black vest hugged his torso, holding the loose shirt close to his body. The attached tailcoat had a couple of layers of ripped clothing underneath that partly covered his matching black trousers with white and blue. The blue lining of his short, white hooded cloak complemented the overall outfit as well. Blue was his color, after all.

He was fastening his bootlaces when Nain came up from behind to hand him a sealed container with warm soup. “Here you go. Don’t drop it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Aoba brushed off his father’s teasing comment and took the container, feeling the warmth of the soup quickly spreading across his palms. He put it in his shoulder bag, making sure it was properly balanced inside the bag.

Aoba stood up when he was done tying his boots, his hand wandering to touch the silver crosses that buttoned his cloak to make sure he was ready to go. “Alright, I’m off.”

His parents stood at the doorstep, wearing affectionate smiles. “Oh, look at my son. All grown up and doing things on his own.” Nain wiped away an imaginary tear.

“Dad, I’m not a little kid.” Aoba shot back, a little annoyed, earning a laughter from Nain. His father patted Aoba on the shoulder, his sharp canines flashing in a grin. “Say hi to Granny for us, okay? Be safe.”

Aoba returned a warm smile of his own. “I will.”

“Aoba,” his mother called. Aoba turned to reply to her, but something made him pause for a brief moment. Haruka’s lips were slightly curled up in a smile, but he read something different in her eyes. Was it…worry?

“I know we’ve been joking, but there’s been news about strange things happening in the forest recently.” Haruka approached and held Aoba’s hand in hers. “I heard Sheriff Akushima is conducting investigations right now, but it’s best not to go deep into the forest until we know for sure what the cause is. You have to make sure to stay on the path. Understand?”

The unexpected change of mood jarred Aoba a bit. “Uh…of course.” Trying to lighten the atmosphere that was threatening to weigh him down like a soaked blanket, he gave his mother a wide reassuring smile. “I’ll be fine, okay? You told me so.”

Soft fingertips brushed over Aoba’s knuckles. “I sure did.” She looked up, this time her usual bright smile present on her face. “Alright then, off you go!” Back to her usual cheerful self, Haruka firmly patted Aoba’s back and ushered him out.

Waving final goodbyes, Aoba closed the door behind him. The forest was about 20 minutes away from his house. Navigating through the neighborhood was the easy part; the distinct landmarks made it easy for him to know which turn to take and how far he should go. Soon he was on the outskirts of the town, standing before the trail.

Trees lined the path as far as the eyes could see until all Aoba could see were only dense greens, patches of sunlight penetrating through little gaps in between the leaves and spattering the ground below with gold. The scenery was that of a fairy tale—glimmering and vibrant and almost magical. Aoba admired the scene as a soft breeze passed by and shook the leaves, the swaying shadows creating a light show. His parents’ words at the door echoed in his head. _You have to make sure to stay on the path…_ It was hard to believe that a forest this peaceful held something sinister in its bosom.

Aoba took a deep breath, filled with the rich scent of earth and foliage, and stepped into the forest.

_Be safe._

_Stay on the path._

How hard could it be?


	2. Koujaku - First Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After some deliberation, I decided to change the name of the fic. It's inspired by The Path, a horror game with Red Riding Hood themes.  
> Many thanks to Shino who accepted my request to be a beta reader for the rest of the fic ;w;

The forest in mid-morning was constantly moving, from the trees swaying in occasional breezes to small insects flying by or hopping past Aoba’s feet. He was lucky to see a squirrel and a rabbit searching for food, though both scurried away before he could observe them closer. It was a nice change of scenery for Aoba, whose daily routine involved going from home to work and back and being cooped up in his room on weekends. There was something genuine about liveliness in nature that was different from the concrete jungle that he was used to. The trees were the color of nature he was particularly fond with. It reminded him of a long-lost memory, and the breeze sweeping past his face felt as if it was welcoming him home.

The sense of wonder did not last long, however; weariness started to set on his feet and Aoba began to focus on his bodily pain more than the beautiful scenery around him. He was used to taking a prolonged walk for his delivery works, but hiking on uneven ground was a whole new league of its own. The largely unchanging scenery soon became boring as well. Sighing deeply, Aoba tugged on his hood. He was starting to feel warm being enveloped in his layers of clothing.

All of a sudden, with a rustle of leaves, Aoba saw a red something flashing by the corner of his eyes. Aoba stood abruptly and turned his head towards the direction of the course of commotion. It wasn’t hard to find it perched on a nearby tree branch; despite the leaves hiding most of its body, its color stood out against the greens of the tree.

It was a bird alright, but not the usual kind one would see around the area. The small, plump body and shape of its beak was that of a sparrow’s, but the plumage was bright red with diamond white markings horizontally lining the wings and back. Some kind of foreign species?

Aoba carefully stepped over, trying not to startle the bird, so he could get a better angle of his view. The small head quickly turned towards many directions, as if scanning the area for its possible prey or hunter.

He was too mesmerized at its strangeness that he did a double take when the bird suddenly turned and locked eyes with him (he might have made a silly sound, too). Surprisingly, though, the sparrow did not fly away at the sight of a loud human. Instead it curiously cocked its head sideways, chirped once, and fluttered down.

“Uh—” Aoba took a step back when the sparrow landed on a bush near him. It seemed to be asking for something from Aoba, or at least be interested in something Aoba had, as it tried to hop closer to the edge and started chirping at him incessantly. Was it possible that it was smelling the soup? He let out a laugh at the silly thought. “Do you want food? I…don’t have any.” Unsure what to do, Aoba raised his hand, attempting to touch the bird.

To his surprise, the red sparrow flew close and landed on the back of Aoba’s hand. Before he could make another startled noise, it hopped onto his arm, then clung over the shoulder bag’s handle, before it looked up at him for a few seconds then hop-climbed onto his shoulder. It chirped merrily and burrowed inside Aoba’s hood, inciting a giggle from him.

He couldn’t guess why this strange bird was so attracted to him, but it was a nice surprise. “I don’t know what on earth you are, but you’re cute.” Aoba lifted his finger and lightly petted the ball of fluff in his hood, feeling the bird leaning into his caress.

Then he felt the claws of the sparrow lightly scratching his flesh as it leapt into the sky again, red wings flapping vigorously and disappearing into the woods. Aoba felt as if he’d gained a temporary companion to accompany his boring journey, and was a little disappointed that it had to end so soon. He stared as the bird disappeared from his sight, then shrugged and turned back to the path. He still had a long way to go.

He would have continued on his track if he hadn’t heard the familiar chirping from behind him. The red sparrow was in the air not too far from where he stood. It flew over to a tree and looked at Aoba again, as if it was waiting for him. He couldn’t find any way to describe the bird’s action, and he stood, looking back at the sparrow for a long moment until something occurred to him: could it be that this bird was asking him to follow it?

“What is this, some kind of fairy tale?” Feeling silly by his own nonsensical logic, Aoba let out a small laugh. While it was ridiculous, his current situation was amusing and most of all, intriguing. What if he was right? And what would happen if he were to follow the bird?

He took a few experimental steps towards the bird. It jumped into the air as if it was waiting for this moment. The sparrow went a few trees ahead, landed, and looked back. Aoba repeated this process a few times, and the bird stopped every time he did, clearly waiting for Aoba. It was definitely trying to lead him somewhere.

Aoba was perfectly aware that he was going off course by following the bird. The ground beneath him was not treaded upon for a long time, the grass and various other growths far more vibrant and letting off a rich scent. He looked back at the dirt road. The road he was on before was brighter than the rest of the forest due to the relative lack of trees. It was easily distinguishable from his surroundings, pushing him to decide that there’s nothing to worry about since he’d be able to find his way back anyway.

The sparrow flew ahead for a while, turning a slight corner here and there, swiftly weaving through trees, and looking back at Aoba from time to time. The forest was a whole new level from the path to Granny’s; he tripped on stray rocks and pieces of branches that sometimes almost made him fall on his face, and other obstacles such as fallen logs so huge that had to be climbed over put his muscles at work. The bird remained patient as Aoba struggled through all, always a few steps ahead.

“Just how far are you going?” Aoba huffed, looking down and fanning himself after catching up with the bird, waiting—almost dreading—for the moment when it would fly off again towards a new checkpoint. The bird did not move, however. It was hopping to and fro in one spot on the ground, tweeting excitedly. Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Aoba looked up.

A man dressed in black stood among the red birds, the same kind as the one that had led Aoba here. Even in the relative absence of sunlight his black hair shimmered like silk. It looked like he was dressed up for some special occasion. He wore black from top to bottom; the black suit well-fitted on his lean, muscular body, a matching cape with a big collar draped over his arms with its ragged edge reaching just over his buttocks on the back—it almost looked like wings—and a pair of black dress shoes covered in dirt and grass. Long tailcoat swayed in the breeze and tickled his calves. His face was hidden from Aoba as his back was turned towards him.

Some of the birds encircled the man while others perched on his head, shoulders, and arms. He reached out his right hand and one bird landed upon his delicate finger as he brought his gloved hand close to his face while it chirped, as if observing—or listening to—the bird.

What was he doing out in the middle of the woods, dressed like he is going to a ball? Aoba approached the man, minding his footsteps. The sparrow flew away from him and perched itself on his shoulder. He could faintly hear the man’s voice as he closed their distance: “…good. …is finally clear…move on now. He could still be in the forest…have to be cautious. Anyway, where is the little guy?”

The bird on Aoba’s shoulder suddenly chirped. Aoba jumped, accidentally stepping on a stray twig as he did. The sharp crack was louder than he expected.

In an instant, the red birds around the man scattered. The man in black snapped around with a gasp.

The startling pair of eyes that was staring back at Aoba were red in color, almost a color of blood; the left one was covered by the man’s bang. The way it glistened under the sparse sunlight, though, was beautiful like a rose. A small horizontal scar stretched across the bridge of his nose.

Upon seeing who it was, the man immediately relaxed. “Thank god…you scared me. I thought you were someone else.” He sighed and let out an embarrassed laugh. The canines peeking out of his lips seemed too long and sharp to be normal. “And you have my friend too! Come here.” A gloved hand beckoned, and the sparrow flew away from Aoba to reunite with its master.

“Ah…sorry about that. I didn’t mean to take your…um, pet away.” Aoba said. The man acknowledged his apology and held the bird close to his face. It was a strange sight; the bird tweeted as if it was talking to the man, and he seemed to be paying close attention to the bird.

“It’s fine. It looks like he likes you.” He smiled. Despite the sharp and lethal-looking canines, the smile was warm and soft. “I’ve never seen my friend take a liking to someone other than me. You must be trustworthy. What’s your name?”

“It’s Aoba,” he replied.

“Aoba, huh? It’s a good name.” The man offered a handshake. “Mine’s Koujaku. Pleasure to meet you.”

“P-pleasure,” Aoba stumbled, grabbing the hand firmly. Koujaku’s slender fingers squeezed Aoba’s.

“Thank goodness I met someone else here. I was trying to get out of this forest. Do you know the way around?”

“Well—” Aoba turned around, and immediately felt his heart sink. He was deeper into the forest than he thought; patches of light that illuminated his path was nowhere to be seen, and all he could see were trees surrounding the area, sinking the forest into a piece of dark sea. It looked the same all around, and he doubted he could backtrack to exactly where he started.

“Shit.”

Aoba felt his cheeks turning warm when Koujaku’s laughter rang. “Don’t tell me you’re lost, too?”

“To be fair, it’s your bird’s fault!” This wasn’t a great first impression to make. Aoba bellowed as he tried his hardest to hide his embarrassment. “He’s the one that led me here, after all.”

“It’s alright. We can find the way back together.” Koujaku grinned. “My friends helped me figure out the general surroundings around here, so we’ll get back on track in no time.”  
Koujaku nodded to the sparrow on his hand. And, before he knew it, it was in the air again, flying ahead as if it was guiding them out of the forest. Koujaku followed, his wing-like cape flowing after him. “Let’s go, Aoba.” 

Staring at the red bird and then at the man following it, Aoba sighed. There were so many strange things about this guy; everything else that had happened today similarly so. But whatever that’s happening now was the least of Aoba’s concern. It was still early afternoon, he wanted to find the way back and arrive at Granny’s before sundown, and who knows how long it would take before then?

There was no one else to rely on, and Koujaku seemed like a decent guy. Weirdo or not, he was just a passing stranger whom Aoba will never see again after this encounter, anyway. With that thought, Aoba jogged to catch up before Koujaku’s dark clothes could blend into the colors of the forest and lose his hope of getting out of here.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will have 5 routes just like the game. Please consider each character route as its own story and not the continuation of each other.


End file.
